New Album 'Curiosities' Available November 12
<a href="https://bastardjazz.bandcamp.com/album/curiosities">BUY ALBUM</a> (CD, Vinyl, Digital)
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/curiosities/id732812842">BUY ON iTUNES</a>

Bastard Jazz Recordings is proud to present the sophomore album Curiosities by New Zealand multi- instrumentalist and producer Lord Echo (aka Mike Fabs). An enticing sonic excursion that effortlessly transcends genre and geography, the release finds Echo flexing his dual-mastery of 60's production techniques and modern dancefloor aesthetics, while also highlighting the vocal prowess of his soulful compatriots through a flowing blend of boogie-laced Funk, disco-primed Dub, futuristic Soul, and timeless African rhythms.

Fabs, known worldwide for his production work with NZ’s biggest Reggae export The Black Seeds, drew a groundswell of excitement around his debut solo album Melodies in late 2010. The independent release became a cult classic strictly through word-of-mouth, championed by tastemakers like Gilles Peterson (who played it repeatedly on his BBC Radio 1 show), Oliver Wang (Soulsides) and Richard Dorfmeister. Re-issues of the album soon followed in Japan and Europe, with vinyl copies quickly becoming a hot commodity among discerning collectors around the globe. Echo was introduced to Bastard Jazz’s DJ DRM in 2011 (via Detroit producer Recloose), and a limited 7” vinyl release on the Brooklyn-based imprint soon followed in 2012, precipitating this full length release with the label.

Curiosities picks up right where Melodies left off, with the sun-drenched psychedelic dub sounds of tracks like “Bohemian Idol” (featuring vocals by Toby Laing of Fat Freddy's Drop), and the jerky funk vibes of cuts like “Digital Haircut” and “Street Knowledge”. The album provides a wealth of DJ fodder, with forward thinking 70s-inspired disco tunes such as “Molten Lava” (featuring the soaring vocals of Leila Adu), as well as analog Afro-infused burners like “What Is That Feeling” and “Put It In My Head” (complemented by the golden-voiced Mara TK of Electric Wire Hustle fame). Down-home spiritual jazz/electronic meanderings ("Ghost Hands", “Arabesque”) provide a counterpoint to Echo's driving cover-version of the Pharoah Sanders & Leon Thomas classic “The Creator Has a Master Plan”. His inspiring take on the track is uplifted by the soulful singing of Lisa Tomlins (who's notable vocals on Echo’s rendition of Sister Sledge’s “Thinking Of You” made it a standout hit from his Melodies album).

The finely-tuned collaborations throughout Curiosities underscore Lord Echo's pivotal position in the thriving New Zealand music scene. "I generally only work with people I know quite well personally", says Echo humbly. That personal and organic approach to creating his music is revealed as the album unfolds, layer by delectable layer. "I made this record primarily with DJs in mind," he continues. "They are generally people who really love music and are often obsessed with various aspects of it. I'm not making music for people for whom it's just some background noise in their lives, I'm making music for people for whom it IS their lives. And for better or worse, I guess I am one of those people."

A diverse, yet grounded LP chock full of head-turning sounds, Curiosities further pushes Lord Echo’s repertoire into the realm of the inimitable, and is sure to pique the interest of discerning music lovers from down-under to the big apple.

Buy on iTunes

Lord Echo - Street Knowledge

Next Stop Stop Soweto Vol. 4
Out March 23 2015
http://www.strut-records.com

Strut continue their acclaimed ’Next Stop Soweto’ series in March 2014 as they return to the rich archives of South African music to spotlight the fertile era of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Tightly controlled by oppressive Apartheid laws, South Africa’s music scene had nevertheless progressed into myriad new directions, embracing funk, soul, rock and disco. 

Next Stop Soweto Vol. 4 is compiled by Duncan Brooker. It will be released on CD, 2LP and digital formats with physical formats featuring sleeve notes by author Francis Gooding along with rare photos and sleeve artwork.

Kabasa - Unga Pfula A Chi Pfalo [Next Stop Soweto Vol. 4]

A free download compilation present from Musique Large to start 2015 including exclusives track by @fulgeance @claudemusic @onelight @baronretif & Conception Perez remixed by @moresounds.
Enjoy, and Stay Large !

Claude - Pool Flirt

William Onyeabor - Love Me Now

Un Canto a Mi Tierra

New Morning (Slow Version)

Pink Fish River

Nat Birchall comes together with dub master, multi-instrumentalist Al Breadwinner Redfern and legendary Jamaican trombonist Vin Gordon for a heavenly 10-track voyage of instrumental Roots Reggae. Read more @ https://wp.me/p471L0-8Yg

Nat Birchall &  Al Breadwinner -In The Hills (TS Premiere)

Ethiopian inspired jazz from Israel is the compound of Sandman Project. It’s a heady mix overseen by Tal Sandman, the guitarist and leader of the group based in Jaffa, the Arabic district of Tel Aviv. Consisting of just four band members on guitar, trumpet, bass and drums, they are set to release their debut Royal Family EP on the mighty Batov Records.

‘Savannah Trip’, the 5th and last track on the record, is an invitation to traverse the Malian desert with an insistent sense of purpose that could easily be lost with a larger group or production. It reflects a marriage of psychedelic West African rock and Ethopian jazz carried by swirling trumpets and the adventure of Tal’s guitar. The fretboard is pushed to the limits as the band slink through the door of the cosmos and join Sun Ra in ethereal, improvisational vibration.

More info here: https://goo.gl/Ka1gZW

Premiere: Sandman Project - Savanna Trip

Atlantic Oscillations

Is It Your Intention

“The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble’s music…seeks to spark a time in which heightened sensibility and higher consciousness will universally be known." Howard Mandel, jazz critic and author

Recently celebrating an extraordinary 45 years in music, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, led by legendary Chicago drummer and percussionist Sir Kahil El’Zabar, are pleased to announce the release of their latest album, ‘Be Known: Ancient/Future/Music’, released 10th May via Spiritmuse Records.

An artist truly in a league of his own, El’Zabar is acknowledged throughout the world as the leader in the vanguard of spiritual groove and afro-futuristic jazz with a significant contribution in the continuation of the scene over the last four decades. His driving compositions - simple themes that gain complexity through repetition and improvisation - have been recorded with such jazz heavyweights including Pharoah Sanders, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and “Light” Henry Huff and he has toured with some of the biggest names in jazz including Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Archie Shepp, Lester Bowie, Nona Hendryx, Billy Bang, Hamiet Bluiett, and David Murray.

Forming EHE shortly after El'Zabar graduated from the fabled school of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in 1973, he teamed up with tenor saxophonist Edward Wilkerson, Jr. with the goal “To combine concepts of African American music with its earlier roots in traditional African music, to produce new motifs and sounds true to their origins yet firmly pointed in a new artistic direction”. Forty-five years later and the rich and compelling, ever-evolving sound the band are known for, is still going strong. 

Together with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble are one of the two remaining original groups in the world today that were nurtured in the AACM. "I knew in my heart, that this band could endure," El'Zabar attests. "My concept was based in logic as it pertains to the history of Great Black Music. In other words, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble has a strong rhythmic foundation, innovative harmonics and counterpoint, well-balanced interplay and polyphony among the players for highly developed ensemble dynamics. We are strong individual soloists with an in-depth grasp of music history, originality, fearlessness and deep spirituality.”

Alongside multi-percussionist and vocalist El’Zabar, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble’s current line-up includes Corey Wilkes on trumpet, who has worked with numerous jazz masters, including Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Elling and with El’Zabar for 15 years, multi-instrumentalist Alex Harding on baritone sax and Ian Maksin on cello, known as one of the most versatile and innovative musicians of his generation, having worked with such diverse artists as Andrea Bocelli and Sting.

Following on from the success of the 2014 album ‘Black is Back: 40th Anniversary Project’, ‘Be Known: Ancient/Future/Music’ is an electrifying mix of spiritual jazz and African rhythms. Compositions such as the thrilling ‘Blew It’ are built around fundamental brass improvisations with a swing-induced groove, while El’Zabar’s vocal chants on ‘Pharoah’ whip up a trance-like fervour, as we are taken on a sacred journey of enlightenment and deep listening. 

With artwork designed by the Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist Nep Sidhu (Erykah Badu/Shabazz Palaces), EHE’s ability to consistently push new boundaries with Afrocentric rhythms and free-flowing jazz says a great deal about El’Zabar’s commitment to the music and the message.

Pre-Order

Exclusive Premiere: Ethnic Heritage Ensemble "Pharoah"

More dusty beats from beneath the flagstones, this one was made around Mishaps Happening era, never finished and never released.

Out from the Cellar #7

The dance orientated sound of British musician, producer and DJ Will “Quantic” Holland has enchanted fans and tastemakers across the world for nearly two decades.

Is It Your Intention

Quantic

Related tracks